P.A.W.N.S., Lopez & Ballistics

There seems to be an unspoken rule in punk rock that states that every single show must start at least 45 minutes late. Such was the case Wednesday night at The Red Room for the second half of a two-show night for locals P.A.W.N.S. and Portland punks, Lopez.
Ballistics were the first band to occupy the cleared out corner of the bar. After opening up with a metal-tinged instrumental, they ripped into their more familiar “whoa-oh-oh” sing-a-longs and double bass drenched punk numbers. Unfortunately for the band, much of the crowd had just arrived from the show at the S&M house which had taken place earlier in the evening and seemed to be more concerned with drinking than listening to music. Ballistics charged on and peaked with the song “Rush or Die” which included an ass-rock finger-tapping intro that I enjoyed to no end.
Next up was Lopez, who were by far the highlight of the evening. The band managed to save enough energy from their first performance and blazed through a set that included such tried-and-true song subjects as alcohol and “getting your ass kicked for being a dick at a party.” The once indifferent crowd began to pay attention and provided a ritualistic punk rock atmosphere, which leaned more toward futile attempts at moshing than to fist pumping and sneering. In between a classic rock ‘n’ roll screech, the lead singer encouraged the people of Chico to “Go downtown on Halloween!” seemingly aware of the absurdity that the holiday is causing, and also mentioned that he and the rest of his band “want to make out with Chico!” Lopez recently released a self-titled debut CD on Infect Records, so be on the look out.
P.A.W.N.S. took the stage and immediately displayed the effects that alcohol can have on your set. Rocking sloppy blues-punk numbers under singer St. Ann’s vibrato wail, the band managed to diminish the number of those in attendance by at least half, save for a few die-hard fans up front singing every word. I was impressed by one song in particular that featured St. Ann on kazoo while the rest of the band played a sort of polka / ska / bar mitzvah ditty that whipped those still interested into a frenzy. Despite being the least together band of the night, the group seemed to be enjoying themselves and displayed some severe stage presence. As for the crowd, I think they had heard just a few too many power chords for one night.
–Ryan Prado
photos by Alyssa Starkey

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